Avro Vulcan (thing)

An addendum and brief update to toalight's excellent writeup above - there is, once more, a flying Avro Vulcan! Aircraft XH558, which was the first Vulcan Mk. 2 delivered to the RAF and the last flying Vulcan retired, was sold in 1993 to a private family company. That company stored it in the hope of one day restoring it, and beginning in 1997, a team began to plan its return to flight. Starting in 2005 the aircraft was painstakingly restored, with RAF Vulcan veterans as well as civilian enthusiasts working on her. Over seven million UK pounds were raised and spent. On October 18, 2007, XH558 lit her Bristol Olympus engines and roared down the runway into the air, the characteristic thunder of a Vulcan once more ringing out across an airfield.

XH558 is now maintained by a charitable trust. You can read about her restoration and her ongoing airshow career (as well as donate for her care and upkeep) at Vulcan To The Sky. A bit of trivia - her chief pilot, as of 2010, is the same Martin Withers (DFC), who, as a Flight Lieutenant, captained the first of seven raids on Port Stanley airfield during The Falklands War - the only time the Vulcan was ever flown in anger.